Someone said writing is a lonely job. Or so we believe. Of course, it is often assumed that writers are mostly introverts. It is possible that introverts are more drawn to writing than extroverts. But why does writing have such a reputation? It’s simple. Writing a novel or a memoir doesn’t need brainstorming sessions with ten different people or hour-long presentations to explain why a story began in a certain way. A cozy corner, a laptop (or a notebook), some coffee, and some rain outside – that’s all some of us need to let our inner writers (or poets) out. But all writers (yes, even the best ones) need some feedback, from time to time, to sharpen their craft. After all, no art can improve in complete isolation. 

Yes, writing is mostly about thinking and reflecting, and observation often provides the best inspiration for a creative plot. But your manuscript needs another pair of eyes scanning it to give you some much-needed feedback before it goes out to print or is posted. And any such feedback can either be generic or personalised. Generic feedback offers broad observations that apply to all writers in a workshop. Personalised feedback, on the other hand, examines your writing style and highlights your strengths and gaps, based on your creative goals.

So, how much of this feedback should be personal and how much of it can be generic? Can generic feedback help you write your book better than a custom workshop? We spoke to poet and novelist Balaji Gopalan, one of our repeat participants at The Himalayan Writing Retreat, to get some insights into how the feedback at our workshops has helped him write and what sort of feedback he prefers. Balaji was selected to participate in the Emerging Writers Residency at our retreat for his second novel, A Hole in the Floor of Your World. He has also co-founded Upward Spiral, an initiative that supports social organisations in designing effective behaviour change programs across Asia and Africa. So, let’s find out more about the generic vs personalised feedback dilemma.

Personalised or Generic Feedback? What Kind of Feedback Is Most Helpful?

So, you’re a confident writer. You know you write fairly well and are in the middle of your first novel. But you want some perspective beyond yours. You want someone to tell you what works and what doesn’t. And who could do that better than someone who has already gone through the grind? 

Our participant Balaji Gopalan had been part of two of our workshops at the retreat. The first one was a poetry masterclass with renowned poet Arundhathi Subramaniam, and the second was a workshop led by poet, novelist, and short story writer Jerry Pinto, both Sahitya Akademi award winners. 

When asked about his opinion on the generic vs personalised feedback issue, Balaji said, “Personally, I prefer personalised feedback that continues over a long period of time. That sort of mentoring is not possible over a short workshop.” He added that while he believed generic workshops were important to get writers and poets to understand nuances and aspects of the craft, sustained feedback that gives a clear idea about improving the personal styles of writing helps them more. 

Generic vs Personalised Feedback: What You Should Know

We asked Balaji whether generic or personalised workshops helped him writer better. To this, he said though he preferred personal feedback, he believed both were important but to writers at different levels or stages of writing.

Balaji described how Arundhati’s poetry masterclass consisted of writing prompts from the poet herself. He added that she had also shared the general principles of poetry. The participants had then submitted their poems, and this was followed by Arundhati’s feedback. In Jerry’s workshop, Balaji recalled, the personalised learning happened through conversations based on writings. Here too, prompts were shared. Participants then submitted their manuscripts, which were personally reviewed by Jerry. 

“For me, personal feedback from Jerry worked very well. I remember I was writing a novel back then. The feedback helped me get my tone right. It also helped me get my characters in place,” Balaji explained. 

While talking about Arundhati’s workshop, Balaji recalled how it gave him an overview of what goes into a good poem and how to craft one. He agreed that the feedback was useful to him and helped him understand how to master writing an evocative poem. 

Generic Workshops Have Writers with Different Goals

So, there really is no comparison between generic and personalised feedback. Yes, in a workshop that has both budding and experienced writers or poets who are perhaps exploring different genres, it is important to set the tone by defining the expectations. It’s crucial for participants to not be judgy of each other. That’s because not everyone in the room (or on the G-meet call) has the same literary background. 

Your generic workshop could have a writer working on her fourth novel. There could also be a student who is just starting out and is clueless about what she wants to write. Someone may have just started writing a thriller, while someone else may have been experimenting with romance. Someone may have set a goal of writing 10,000 words by the end of the workshop, while someone else may have joined the workshop to deal with a bad case of writer’s block. 

If this is the case, then there’s hardly any common ground, except the fact that they all want to learn something new and they all want feedback on how to hone their craft. People may just want to know how to actually finish a book. And that is a tricky place to begin with, even for the mentors. 

Generic Workshops Can Lead to Personalised Mentoring

In spite of being too broad, generic workshops, in a way, help both participants and mentors understand the needs of the writers. They help create a safe space for participants, where they learn to trust their mentors and the room well enough to share their work and exchange ideas. 

Generic workshops also pave a well-defined path for future workshops (with more personal feedback). Take Balaji’s case for instance. While his initial workshop with Jerry had him write a 5000-word manuscript that was reviewed by the author himself, Balaji now feels there should be an advanced workshop with the same author for his other work samples. 

Balaji says, “From my own experience, I can say that I would love to have a writing mentor guiding me for a 12-month period.” While talking about repeating workshops with the same mentors, he adds, “The personalised learning, in such cases, will be much deeper, compared to getting some feedback on one sample of writing. I would love to have ongoing feedback sessions for a longer period of time or meet my mentors again in other workshops that can provide me advanced-level feedback on multiple work samples.”

Personalised or Generic Feedback? Which One Should You Choose?

If you’re still wondering how to get effective writing feedback, remember to choose a feedback program or workshop that suits you. Here’s what you should know before you decide:

• There’s no one-size-fits-all solution: When it comes to feedback that helps you finish a book, feedback that may work for you may not work for someone else. You may learn the craft in a generic workshop and then apply the learnings to complete your book. Or you could be someone who needs more personalised learning and not a discussion on broad topics. In case you belong to the second group, you may opt for custom workshops that focus on your growth as a writer or a poet and don’t rely on quick fixes. 
• Your individual style matters: Whatever it is, choose a workshop or program that respects your style and range. For any workshop to be effective, it is extremely important for it to respect the author’s voice. Feedback can only be applied if it is delivered professionally and without judgement. And any good and constructive feedback will help you grow as a writer and not make you feel lost. 
• Most feedback ends at the workshop: At the end of the day, it’s not a generic vs personalised feedback issue. The learning from any workshop shouldn’t fizzle out over time. Most workshops fail because once the participants go back to their day jobs after the workshop ends, they slowly drift away from the writers’ community that they were part of during the workshop. Likewise, they don’t always carry back the mental peace or the key takeaways of a remote workshop in the mountains. So, WhatsApp or Telegram groups where they can interact with other participants and their mentors are crucial for them to be in touch with their creative selves. Online writing clubs (where they meet on calls weekly or monthly) and peer feedback sessions help them recall their learnings in such cases. 

Final Thoughts: It’s About Knowing Your Work

Yes, writing may be a lonely job. But a community always helps writers come up with their best work. Are you still wondering if you should be joining a workshop at all? We’d say don’t wait! Whether you’re just starting out as a writer or are exploring new genres, join a workshop or a feedback group today! The worst-case scenario? You’ll end up being a part of a great like-minded writers’ community, even if your work gets ripped apart. And if it all works out, you may just invite us to your book-signing event next year! In either case, we wish you all the very best.